LiquidKeyboard makes touch-typing easier
If
you've ever tried to transfer your touch-typing skills onto a
touchscreen tablet's virtual keyboard, you'll know what an impossible
task that can be. Apart from the fact that there's no tactile guide to
tell you where keys are in relation to each other, placing all of your
fingers onto the screen almost always causes accidental activation of
unwanted keys. Researchers from the University of Technology, Sydney
(UTS) claim to have overcome such issues with the development of a
QWERTY keyboard interface that should allow touch typists to tap away
without needing visual prompts.
Early
versions of the LiquidKeyboard system were developed using HTML and
JavaScript, and are said to have been inspired by a virtual keyboard
from Microsoft that used a split keyboard approach. Creators Christian
Sax and Hannes Lau went on to develop the system for Apple's iOS
operating system for the iPad, but say that the software could be
adapted for use on other operating platforms. They chose the iPad
believing it to have superior multi-touch capability, and because the
cost of the hardware met their strict budget criteria.
Touch
typing on a physical keyboard is more than just having a mental map of
key location; it's also about getting some sort of tactile feedback from
pressed keys, and about getting a sense of where keys are relative to
others. While LiquidKeyboard can't do much about the physical typing
sensation, it splits the QWERTY keys into allocatable groups and assigns
sets to individual fingers – the upshot being that when the software
detects four fingers being placed onto the surface of the display, it
creates a fluid keyboard underneath the fingers.
The
researchers from the Engineering and Information Technology department
at UTS are currently working on refining the prototype. I think that
this has obvious potential for touch-typers like me, who find themselves
craving a physical keyboard when typing on tablet devices. However, it
could also open up new and interesting usage possibilities for
note-takers in the business and student world, designers and modelers
and, of course, gamers.
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